


Screams of the Past

by Jellybean96



Series: Bits and Things [34]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Scene, Canon Divergence, Childhood Memories, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Memories, Repressed Memories, abuse tw, mentions of abuse, mentions of child abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-30
Updated: 2016-09-30
Packaged: 2018-08-18 17:19:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8169761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jellybean96/pseuds/Jellybean96
Summary: What would have happened if Skye had picked up all three pieces of the Berserker staff instead of May?





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new one for ya. I think I probably had the most fun with this one because I got to play around with the shows canon, and by play around I mean change it completely. :)  
> A while back I had someone suggest a prompt to me which was: "Skye picks up all three pieces of the staff instead of May. When she's done fighting she puts it down and looks at Ward. The look on her face breaks him. Her eyes are blank. When they get back to the hotel, Skye and Ward talk and he find out her childhood was similar and worse than his. They become closer and something more". I think I may have differed a little from the prompt, but it's still the same basis.
> 
> Enjoy!

Breathing heavily, Skye falls to her knees against the concrete floor of the church building, the metal staff clanging to the ground next to her as she falls forward on her hands, her long tresses hanging down in front of her face. She can feel the bile rise up in her throat as memory after memory continues to wash over the forefront of her mind.

"Oh dear," she faintly hears Simmons gasp out from somewhere near her.

Everything seems to be moving out of time as she feels two sets of hands help her up from the floor. She opens her eyes to see the concerned faces of Fitz and Simmons looking back at her.

She kindly waves them off, telling them that she's fine. She sweeps her hair out of her face and swallows, her face scrunching up at the taste of vomit in her mouth, almost making her wretch again.

She moves off to the side as people move about the church, cleaning up the mess of people lying unconscious as well as the small mess she made herself when she got sick.

"You okay?"

She lifts her head to see Ward looking at her with slight concern on his face.

She nods, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You didn't look so fine when you collapsed just a bit—"

"I didn't collapse," she cuts him off. "My legs just got a little weak, that's all. I promise you that I'm fine."

He just looks at her for a moment before letting out a relenting sigh. "Alright. But I'm just a little curious as to why you picked up the staff. I was about to grab it to finish them off but you beat me to it."

She shrugs, "You looked pretty worn out as it was with only two pieces of the staff. If you had all three, it probably would have been worse."

"You didn't seem much better than I would have been," he says.

She sighs, "I told you already that I'm fine."

He nods, "Alright, I believe you."

She nods once, "Good." She takes a deep, shaky breath, "So, are we heading out anytime soon?"

"Yeah. We'll probably be staying at a hotel for the night before we leave," he tells her.

"Ooh," she smiles, "sounds like a fun time."

"I don't think most people associate the word 'hotel' with 'a fun time'."

"Clearly you've never been at a hotel with the right person then," she smiles at him and then walks away towards the exit of the church.

* * *

"Thought I might find you down here."

Skye looks up to see Ward approaching her at the hotel bar. She gives him a tight smile. "The only thing that has never let me down in my life is alcohol. As sad and depressing as that may sound, considering how young I still am, it's probably one of the truest statements I've ever said in my life." She lifts her glass to her lips and takes a swig.

Ward sits down next to her and orders a drink for himself. He rests his arms on the bar top and turns his head towards her, "How are you feeling?"

"Like I could definitely get used to turn down service and little mints on my pillow."

"Well, over nights aren't standard," he tells her, accepting his drink from the bartender. He takes a drink from his glass and swallows. "Do you want to talk about what you saw? When you touched the staff?" He lowers his voice slightly, "Was it about a foster home?"

She swallows thickly. "Look, I uh, I appreciate the offer, but I'd really rather not talk about it."

He nods, "Alright, I get it. But if you ever do want to talk, I'm here. As your S.O. it's my job to make sure you're always in the best shape, both physically and mentally. I may not be the best at showing my emotions, but I'm always here to lend an ear and listen to you. Even if you just need to vent."

She gives him a small smile, "Thanks, Ward."

He gives her a small smile back, "Anytime."

Skye downs the rest of her drink and slides the glass across the bar top. She looks at Ward, "Well, I think I'm gonna head up to bed now. Feeling kind of drained after today."

He nods, "Right, of course. I'm going to stay here and finish my drink," he holds up his half full glass.

"See you in the morning, Robot."

He gives her a small smile as she walks away, "See you in the morning, Rookie."

* * *

Stopping in front of the hotel room door two and a half hours later, Skye takes a deep breath to calm her racing heart. She wipes her sweaty palms on the front of her jeans before lifting a fist to knock on the wood.

A few seconds later the door opens to reveal Ward standing on the other side.

"Hey," she says, shifting on her feet. "So, um, did you mean what you said down at the bar? About being there if I wanted to talk?" She nervously bites her lip between her teeth.

Ward nods his head, "Yeah, of course."

She breathes out, "Cool."

It's quiet for a moment before Ward speaks up, "Was there something else?"

"Oh, um, yeah. I was maybe wondering if I could still take you up on that offer."

He gives her a hint of a smile, "Sure. Come on in."

"Great, thanks," she gives him a small smile as she steps past him into his room. She hears him close the door as she makes a beeline for the large bed. She kicks her shoes off and flops down onto it, leaning back against the headboard.

"Make yourself comfortable," Ward dead pans when he sees her.

She smiles sheepishly, "Sorry."

He shakes his head, "It's fine. I actually had a feeling you'd come by at some point tonight." He moves towards the mini fridge in the room and pulls open the door, searching inside for a moment. He emerges with a few small bottles of alcohol, holding them up for her to see. "You want one?"

She shakes her head, "No, thanks. I think I've had enough for tonight."

"Alright." He sets the bottles back inside the fridge and then shuts the door, moving over to the desk and sitting down in the chair, not wanting to crowd Skye.  
He watches as she looks down and pulls her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms tightly around them. She bites her lip between her teeth as her brows furrow together.

"Skye," he speaks up softly, "is everything okay?"

She looks up at him, "What? Oh, yeah, everything's fine."

"If everything's fine then why did you want to come and talk?"

Skye's quiet for a moment before opening her mouth, "I saw one of my foster homes."

He stays silent, letting her speak.

"When I held the complete staff," she continues, "I saw one of my foster homes. The worst one, if I'm being completely honest. I've blocked out pretty much that whole entire experience because it was just so awful and traumatic for me, but when I touched the staff it all came rushing back full force. And it was horrible."

Ward swallows thickly, shoving down the lump forming in his throat.

"I was about six, I think," she continues, pulling him out of his thoughts. She's not making eye contact with him, instead choosing to focus on the intricate pattern of the blanket beneath her. "It was at the beginning of the summer and I was sent to live with this married couple; they weren't able to have any kids of their own, so they were considering adoption. I guess you could say I was some kind of a trial run for them."

"Skye," he speaks softly when he sees the look on her face. "You don't have to tell me this if it's too difficult or painful for you."

She shakes her head, "No. I want to. I've just...I've never actually talked to anyone about any of this since it happened."

He nods, "Alright. Well, just take your time."

She nods. "Everything was really great at first while I was there," she begins to explain after a moment. "The woman was so caring and always played with me when she wasn't busy with something else; she was everything I thought a mother should be. The man was a provider, very protective, everything I imagined a dad to be. They were completely perfect and at the time I could see myself staying there forever and calling these people my mom and dad."  
She swallows thickly, "The yelling started about a month after I got there. I don't even know what happened. The yelling wasn't directed towards me at first; I'd always just hide myself up in my room whenever they'd start screaming at each other. But eventually the yelling found its way to me. She did most of the yelling, he only yelled at me a few times. Most of the yelling consisted of her telling me how worthless I was, that it was no surprise to her why my real parents didn't want me even as a baby. Everything she said completely shattered my little six year old heart." She wipes a few stray tears from her cheeks.

Standing from the chair he'd been sitting in, Ward moves across the room to sit down next to Skye on the bed, leaning back against the headboard with his legs stretched out in front of him. He waits silently for her to continue.

"Two weeks after the yelling is when the beatings started. He was always the one to hit me; she did it a few times, mostly just slaps to the face. But most of the time it was him. He was usually drunk whenever it happened, which was almost all the time. I pretty much always had bruises covering my body and whenever anyone asked about them my foster parents just said that it was because I was clumsy. I was too scared of what they'd do to me if I tried to contradict them."

"How long were you at that place?" he asks quietly.

"About three and a half months," she replies.

"Didn't the orphanage do monthly check ins or something? Wouldn't they have noticed the bruises?"

Skye nods, "Yeah, they came once a month to check on things. They asked about the bruises on my arms and the story was always that I was just extremely clumsy. I don't know if the nuns really believed it, but they never said anything about it after the first time they visited.

"The beatings only got worse from there. He threw me a few times. Usually against a nearby wall. Once when he was really drunk he threw me down the stairs. I'm still surprised I didn't break any bones that day. I went from being completely excited about the possibility of staying there to being so scared that I was going to stay there forever and the beatings would never stop. I cried myself to sleep most nights."

"But you got out," Ward says. "How?"

"A very nice elderly neighbor," Skye says with a small smile on her face. "I hardly even remember how it all happened, I think I was groggy from my head having hit a wall, but I just remember her being there. I blacked out one minute and the next thing I knew I was waking up in a warm bed with this beautiful old woman sitting in a chair next to me with this kind smile on her face."

"She saved you," he states.

Skye nods, "Yeah. She was so sweet and so kind and I just wanted to stay with her forever. But she told me that after I was feeling better she was going to take me back to the orphanage. She said she wasn't capable of taking care of a young child full time at her age. My heart sunk because I really, really liked her."

She takes a deep breath, "So once I was a little better, she took me back to the orphanage and I stayed there for a while before I was put into another foster home. I pushed back every single memory I had of that one house; I never wanted to relive any part of it."

"But when you touched the staff…"

Skye nods, "It all came back. I just...all those memories of that house were forced back to the front all at the same time and it was just too much for me to handle."

"That's why you got sick after the fight," he says in realization.

She nods again, "Yeah. It was such a traumatic experience and it took so long for me to be comfortable in another foster home after that. I was always worried that if I did just one little thing wrong I'd get hit or yelled at."

"I'm sorry you had to go through all of that. And that you had to relive it when you touched the staff. Are you going to be okay?"

Skye takes a shaky breath, "I think so. But uh, could I maybe, stay in here tonight? I understand if that's a little weird to ask, but I just, I don't think I want to be alone tonight."

He shakes his head, "It's fine."

"Really?"

He gives her half a smile and nods, "Really."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

Skye's quiet for a moment before she shifts in the bed and settles herself down on top of the covers.

"I'll take the floor," Ward says, moving to stand up from the bed.

"No," Skye says quickly as she shoots up in the bed, stopping him. She shrinks back down slightly. "I mean, please, don't."

Ward takes a moment to look at her, noticing her eyes that are still filled somewhat with fear. He gives her a small nod, "Alright. But only if you're okay with it."

She nods. "Please. I don't...I don't think..." she pauses to take a deep breath. "Normally I'm able to push away all my not so pleasant memories of foster homes when I sleep, but these memories are the worst. I haven't thought about them in a really long time and I don't think they'll stay away during the night."

"I get it. Are you sure you don't mind me sleeping in the bed with you?"

"I'm sure," she nods. "I actually think it'll help me sleep better knowing you're here and will keep me safe, even if it's just from my nightmares."

"I promise that I will."

"Good. I'm uh, I'm just going to use the bathroom real quick," she tells him as she stands up from the bed.

"Okay. I'll be here," he gestures to the bed as he sits down on the edge of it.

She gives him a half smile and then turns towards the bathroom, steps inside and closes the door.

While Skye is inside the bathroom, Ward shifts on the bed so he's sitting up slightly on the bed, his head resting against the headboard and his legs stretched in front of him. He can't do much except think.

He doesn't know how long he sits there thinking when the bathroom door opens again. He looks up to see Skye walking out of the bathroom, shutting off the light as she does.

She walks around to the other side of the bed and sits down on the edge before lifting the blankets and sliding in between the sheets, lying back and resting her head on the pillow.

"Feeling okay?" he asks her after a few moments of silence.

She nods. "At least, I'm feeling better than I was before. Thanks for letting me open up," she says. "I've never told anyone about that before."

"Happy I could be an ear to listen," he says back. "Now get some sleep, you're probably exhausted after everything that happened today."

"Aww," she says with a teasing smile, "I didn't know Robots had a caring setting."

Ward chuckles quietly, "It's a fairly recent system update. Now go to sleep," he repeats, ignoring her slightly shocked expression at his joke.

"Fine," Skye says after a quick moment. She wriggles around on the bed for a minute, to get comfortable, and then looks up at him when she's settled. "You're still going to be here when I wake up, right?"

He gives her a small smile and nods, "I'm not going anywhere."

"Good," she says and then closes her eyes, turning her head further into the pillow.

Ward just watches as her breathing slowly evens out and her face becomes more relaxed, telling him she's falling deeper asleep.

He lets out a small sigh and then relaxes against his pillow, embracing the calming quiet around him.

* * *

"No! Please! Don't! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Please!"

Ward's head shoots up from where he's sitting at the desk in his hotel room reading a book to find Skye thrashing around in the bed.

He immediately stands from the chair and rushes over to the bed, sitting down on the edge of the bed next to her. "Skye," he calls out, his hands reaching out for her shoulders. "Skye, wake up! You're okay, you're safe."

"Don't! Please!"

"Skye!" He grabs hold of her shoulders and gently shakes her, hoping to wake her.

"No!" Skye shouts before her eyes shoot open and her breathing increases.

"Skye," he says her name again, calmer, and stands up, moving so he's hovering above her, one of his hands on the side of her face. "Hey, you're okay, you're okay. You're safe."

Her eyes dart around before landing on him. "Grant?" she speaks up in a barely there whisper that makes her seem smaller than she is.

He nods, "Yeah, I'm here, I'm right here. You're okay." He sits back down on the edge of the bed, removing his hand from her face, "Do you remember where you are?"

Skye pulls herself up into a sitting position, "At a hotel."

He nods, "Good, good."

"I'm sorry," she says next, pulling her knees up to her chest.

Ward furrows his brows, "For what?"

"For what just happened," she tells him. "I've had nightmares before, but I haven't had one like that in a really long time. I'm sorry."

"Hey, you have nothing to be sorry for, okay? There's nothing wrong with having nightmares. I'm guessing it had something to do with what you told me last night." Skye nods silently. "Then it's perfectly understandable. No need for you to be apologizing."

"Thanks," she gives him half a smile. "For everything. I really appreciate it."

"No problem," he gives her a small smile. "I'm happy I could help."

"You really did," she tells him. "If I had been by myself tonight, then that probably would have been a whole lot worse. So I'm glad I had someone here to help me. Although, considering how horrible all those memories were, I'm probably still going to have nightmares once we get back to the Bus. That's definitely going to be fun," she says sarcastically.

"Well, um," he reaches behind him to rub nervously on the back of his neck, "I mean, I can help you...back on the Bus. If you want."

"You'd really do that for me?" she asks.

He nods, "Yeah. If you wake up from a nightmare, you can come find me and I can help you. Though, now that I think about it, it might be easier if we stay in the same bunk. So I can be right there if you do have a nightmare and you don't have to worry about waking up by yourself," he quickly adds when she raises an eyebrow. "Obviously we don't have to share a bunk if you aren't comfortable with that, I just thought—"

He's cut off by the feeling of Skye's lips on his cheek.

"What...?"

Skye blushes slightly and gives him a small smile, "You're being really sweet. It's nice. I think I like this side of Grant Ward."

"I think I do too," he replies.

"That's good," she smiles. "And maybe, if we're both lucky, we'll see more of him as time goes on."

Ward smiles and nods, "Maybe we will." He takes a deep breath, "Are you hungry? I think the kitchen's open now. I could order us some room service before we have to get back to the Bus later."

"That'd be nice," Skye smiles. "Thanks."

"Yeah. Anything particular that you want?"

"Nothing too heavy," she tells him. "I think I need to take it easy for a little while so my stomach can settle back down."

"Good plan," he replies, already moving for the phone. "Maybe just some toast and fruit, then?"

Skye nods. "Peanut butter on the toast, please; extra toasty."

"You got it," he throws her a smile as he dials the number for room service.

Skye waits for a moment before standing from the bed and making her way into the bathroom.

When she's finished in the bathroom, she steps back out to find Ward sitting on the bed with a book open in his lap.

"What are you reading?" she asks him as she sits down next to him.

"Just one of the books they keep here in the hotel rooms," he tells her. "Nothing too excited, but it keeps the mind occupied."

"Will you read to me?" she asks as she lies down on her side facing him.

"Um, I guess so. Do you want me to start from the beginning?"

She shakes her head, "No. You can just read from wherever you're reading. I just need something to take my mind off things."

"I understand," he nods. "Are you comfortable?"

She nods, "Mm-hmm."

"Alright." He shifts slightly on the bed to make himself more comfortable and then begins reading to her from the book.

After a few minutes, he glances down to see Skye's eyes closed and her mouth parted slightly.

Smiling to himself, he closes the book and sets it down on the nightstand next to the bed. He looks back at Skye and tentatively reaches out to brush some hair back out of her face.

Skye shifts ever so slightly in the bed when he does so, almost nuzzling her head into his hand. She lets out a small puff of air after he pulls his hand away.

A knock at the door pulls his attention from the sleeping brunette. He quietly stands from the bed and makes his way over to the door.

Pulling it open, he sees a young looking guy standing on the other side with a pushcart holding their tray of food.

"Room service," the boy says.

"Thank you," Ward offers him a polite smile.

"Would you like me to come in and set everything up for you?"

"No, thank you. My...friend fell back asleep and I don't want to disturb her."

"Of course," the boy nods.

Ward reaches down and lifts the tray off of the cart and steps back inside the room. "Thank you," he nods as he closes the door.

"Grant?"

He looks over to see Skye looking at him through half asleep eyes, her head raised up off the pillow just a hair.

"It's just the food," he tells her as he sets the tray down on the desk. "Go back to sleep, it'll still be here when you wake back up."

"Okay," she nods. "Will you come lay with me again? You're really warm."

Ward chuckles, "Yeah. Just give me a minute."

"Mm-kay." She lies her head back on the pillow and closes her eyes again.

Ward turns back to the food and makes sure everything is secure and things that need to be refrigerated are put away before turning towards the bed.

He moves across the room to the bed and lies down on top of the covers. As soon as he lies down, Skye shifts on the bed so she's right up against his side.

He stills for a moment before relaxing again and wrapping one of his arms around her to pull her in closer.

Resting his head against hers he closes his eyes and lets sleep overtake him, a small smile gracing his lips.

* * *

Taking a deep breath, Skye slowly cracks her eyes open. She's about to turn around when she feels a heavy weight across her middle. She looks down to see a muscular arm and immediately panics.

Her heart calms again when the memories of the previous few hours come back into her mind.

She turns her head to see Ward lying asleep next to her. She lifts her head off the pillow to look at the clock next to the bed and checks the time, 9:16.

Doing her best to turn around, Skye pokes at his upper arm. "Ward. Ward, wake up."

Ward stirs and groans.

"Ward," she calls again. "Can you unwrap your arm from around me please? I kinda have to use the bathroom."

Ward slowly comes into consciousness, blinking a few times to get rid of the sleep on his eyes.

"What time is it?" he asks in a raspy voice.

"After nine," she tells him, resting her elbow on the bed and placing her head in her hand.

"I never sleep in this late," he says.

"Well maybe there's something wrong in your programming," she jokes. "Or some circuits are loose. You really should have someone check that."

Ward laughs quietly, "I will definitely do that." He takes a deep breath, "Now, do you want to eat the food that room service brought earlier this morning, or do you just want to go down to the restaurant and get something there?"

"Can we go to the restaurant?" Skye asks him. "I'm kinda thinking I might be able to eat more now."

"Restaurant it is," he smiles. He begins climbing out of the bed. "Do you want to use the bathroom or anything before we go downstairs?"

Skye nods her head, "Yeah. I'll be quick."

"Okay. I'll just be out here." He gestures to the bed as Skye makes her way into the bathroom.

He just sits silently on the bed as he waits for Skye to be done. He lets his mind start to wander as he waits.

A few minutes later, the bathroom door opens and Skye emerges, shutting the light off as she goes.

"You ready?" she asks him.

He nods, "Yeah."

He stands from the bed and moves towards the door, Skye right behind him. He pulls the door open, allowing Skye to step out, and then steps through it, closing it tightly behind them.

They silently make their way down through the hotel and to the in-house restaurant.

Stepping through the double doors, they notice Fitz and Simmons already seated at a table, talking animatedly with one another.

"Hey guys," Skye says as she and Ward approach the table.

"Oh, hello," Simmons says, looking up at them with a small smile. "Skye, how are you feeling after yesterday?" she asks in a low voice.

"Much better, actually," Skye tells her, taking the seat next to her.

"Well that's excellent," Simmons says with a smile.

"Yeah. So, what are you two eating?"

"Just some oatmeal and toast," Simmons replies.

"Ugh. That's so boring."

"Hello, can I get either of you anything?"

Skye looks up to see a waiter standing in front of their table.

"Hi," she smiles up at him. "I would like some French toast with syrup, some bacon, some eggs, and some hash browns with a cup of coffee."

"Of course," the man nods as he writes. "How would you like your eggs?"

"Scrambled."

"And your coffee?"

"Black."

"Great. And you, sir?" The waiter turns to Ward.

"Um, just some toast with butter and coffee, please. Black, as well."

"Alright," he nods. "Your food will be out soon." He turns and walks away.

"You really drink your coffee black?" Ward asks Skye.

She shrugs, "Yeah. Why?"

"It's nothing," he shakes his head. "I just figured you for the type to add all kinds of different stuff to it."

"Yeah, well. When I first started drinking it I couldn't really afford to add much stuff to it. Eventually I just got used to the taste and now that's just how I drink it."

"Good to know," he nods.

"Good morning, everyone."

The four adults turn their heads to see Coulson approaching the table.

"Hey," Skye smiles. "Where's May?"

"She already ate a few hours ago," Coulson answers as he pulls a chair out and sits down. "She ate quickly so she could get back to the Bus to make sure it's all fueled up and ready to go when we are."

"Ah," Skye nods. "Well, unlike May, I am going to work on savoring my breakfast and really make the most of it."

* * *

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

Skye looks up from her laptop to see Ward leaning against the doorway to her bunk.

"Much better than last night," she tells him with a small smile. "Thanks."

"Yeah, no problem." He goes to walk away when Skye calls out to him again. He turns back towards her, "Yeah?"

"Well, um, I was wondering about something. You know how well I slept back at the hotel, and I'm pretty sure that those particular memories aren't just going to be a one-off sort of thing for a while. So um, if it isn't too much trouble, I was wondering if maybe, if maybe I could, possibly, sleep in your bunk with you tonight. It's totally okay if you don't want me to, but I know you offered back at the hotel, so I just thought that I'd ask, just in case that offer still stands."

Ward gives her a small smile, "No, that's fine. You're more than welcome." He lifts a hand to rub at the back of his neck, "I honestly think I'd feel a little better if you weren't alone tonight, either."

"Great," she smiles back. "So I guess I'll see you tonight, then?"

He nods, "Yeah. See you tonight. And uh, you can call me Grant, if you want."

Skye smiles up at him, "Okay. See you tonight, Grant."

"See you tonight, Skye," he smiles once more at her as he turns around and walks away to his own bunk.

...

"So, how long do you think until they start sneaking around and try to keep everything a secret?"

"Phil..."

"Oh, don't be like that, Mel. You know as well as I do that something must have happened at that hotel last night."

"Yes. But whatever it is, it's none of our business."

"Maybe so. But I've never seen Ward smile like that, or that much. I give it three months."

"...I give it two weeks."

**Author's Note:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Hope you all have enjoyed my updates this week. It was definitely fun to do.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


End file.
